Stop Glorifying Busy

What kinds of excuses have you been making lately? Did you turn down your friends for dinner? Or maybe you let your team members take the lead on a project you should’ve contributed to. Have you ever broken down your excuses and realized the root of them all? You probably say you’re “just too busy”- shocker. You have mounds of laundry waiting to be folded, the dirty dishes are toppling out of your sink, and there’s probably a fast approaching deadline for something you’ve been procrastinating.

I’m the kind of person that loves making to-do lists and mapping out every minute of every day with my Google calendar. I do my best work when my schedule is full because it helps me stay on task. My brain always seems to have a million and one tabs open while constantly jumping from “oh crap that’s due Thursday” to “add this to the ‘get done this week’ list.” I used to write such long to-do lists that I’d go to bed each night feeling unaccomplished and guilty for everything I didn’t get done instead of focusing on the eight things I was able to cross off. I would wake up around 6 a.m. to edit photos, go to class from 9-4, then do homework and edit more photos for the rest of the day until finally crawling into bed around 11:30 feeling anxious and depleted. This sort of go-go-go mentality seemed fun and exhilarating at times, but it often made me jealous of others who seemed to have so much free time to relax and hang out with friends.

I began to realize how many excuses I was making because I thought being busy equalled being successful. I really believed that the more overload I felt, the more the hard work would pay off in the end. But have you ever slowed down to consider what “the end” we’re all working for really is? How many of us are working our tails off with the mentality of thinking that after a certain point everything will change and our lives will become easier? Sorry to break it to you but that’s not reality. I don’t think I’m alone in once thinking that working without rest was going to result in greater success. Busy is a mentality. It’s something we use to try to justify what we fill our lives with. The busiest person doesn’t win the race, and they certainly don’t get ahead by trying to one-up their neighbor in level of busyness. Why is being busy seen as an award in society? Instead, I believe should we look at one another and start commemorating fullness and richness of life instead of making excuses with the irrelevant tasks that we let consume us.

I believe that a busy mindset can be easily replaced with an abundant mindset. However, this doesn’t mean that you need to delete all the work from your calendar or stop making to-do lists. An abundant mindset can be cultivated by working smarter, not harder. The first step I took to implementing this into my life was by making shorter, more attainable daily to-do lists. I now only add things that I’m sure I will be able to finish or at least get a solid start on. Instead of unloading 20 things that don’t really need to happen right now, I pick and choose by strategically prioritizing. I work smarter during these times by leaving my phone in another room or turning it on “do not disturb” mode. I also thoughtfully plan times of rest. This could look like an hour long walk on a Sunday night and a potluck with friends on a Wednesday. Think about what simple activities are going to fill you up that don’t require too much forethought or time. I’ve found that planning even one activity during a week gives me something to look forward to and a chance to feel like my abundant schedule is worth the hard work.

I challenge you this week to add at least one thing to your calendar that brings you joy. Something that you can work towards and enjoy the heck out of. Let your soul be filled up this week so that you can pour more of yourself into the things that fill your life.